Mrs. and Miss Showers were living in apartments when I visited them, and
there was no means nor opportunity of deceiving their friends, even had
they had any object in doing so. I must add also, that they knew nothing
of my Indian life nor experiences, which were things of the past long
before I met them. At the first sitting Miss Showers gave me for "spirit
faces," she merely sat on a chair behind the window curtains, which were
pinned together half-way up, so as to leave a V-shaped opening at the
top. The voice of "Peter" (Miss Showers' principal control) kept talking
to us and the medium from behind the curtains all the time, and making
remarks on the faces as they appeared at the opening. Presently he said
to me, "Mrs. Ross-Church, here's a fellow says his name is Powles, and
he wants to speak to you, only he doesn't like to show himself because
he's not a bit like what he used to be." "Tell him not to mind that," I
answered, "I shall know him under any circumstances." "Well! if he was
anything like that, he was a beauty," exclaimed Peter; and presently a
face appeared which I could not, by any stretch of imagination, decide
to resemble in the slightest degree my old friend. It was hard, stiff
and unlifelike. After it had disappeared, Peter said, "Powles says if
you'll come and sit with Rosie (Miss Showers) often, he'll look quite
like himself by-and-by," and of course I was only too anxious to accept
the invitation.
As I was setting out another evening to sit with Miss Showers, the
thought suddenly occurred to me to put the green necktie in my pocket.
My two daughters accompanied me on that occasion, but I said nothing to
them about the necktie. As soon as we had commenced, however, Peter
called out, "Now, Mrs. Ross-Church, hand over that necktie. Powles is
coming." "What necktie?" I asked, and he answered, "Why Powles' necktie,
of course, that you've got in your pocket. He wants you to put it round
his neck." The assembled party looked at me inquisitively as I produced
the tie. The face of John Powles appeared, very different from the time
before, as he had his own features and complexion, but his hair and
beard (which were auburn during life) appeared phosphoric, as though
made of living fire. I mounted on a chair and tied the necktie round his
throat, and asked him if he would kiss me. He shook his head. Peter
called out, "Give him your hand." I did so, and as he kissed it, his
moustaches _burned_ me. I cannot account for it. I can only relate the
fact. After which he disappeared with the necktie, which I have never
seen since, though we searched the little room for it thoroughly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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